by James "Sir Tao" Murphy
At Feast of Blackwood the Clontarf Casino will be offering a new table game, called “Blackwood’s Knights and Squires.”
I thought I would show (advertise) how the game is played
ahead of time so that people can have a better chance to enjoy this new game.
Before cards are dealt each player puts up a single bet in
either a multiple of 5 or 10 gold. It is in the player’s advantage to bet in
increments of 10. The reason why will be covered later.
Starting on the dealers left, cards are dealt out one at a
time until each player and the dealer have seven cards. Cards are dealt face
down. Any remaining cards are put aside and not used.
Once all cards have been dealt each player then looks at
their hand and divides it into the “Knight hand” of 5 cards, and the “Squire
hand” of 2 cards. These hands should be placed face down in the Knight and Squire
boxess in front of each player.
The Knight hand must be stronger than or equal to the Squire
hand.
Only certain cards are useful to the Knights and Squires. Any card not listed here is not useful.
Here is the order of weapons (cards) usefulness:
Any Ace: this is a dagger, the
weakest of the weapons but better than nothing
Any 3 by itself: this is a 3 foot
Any King: single short
Any Queen: magical attack
Any Jack: Florentine combination
Any 5: five foot
One 3 and one 8: sword and board
Two 6’s: 6’6”
In the event of a tie between two Knight or two Squire
hands; an Ace (dagger) can be added to three foot (3’s), single short (K’s), or
magical attack (Q’s) to win a tie.
Up to 6 players can play at the same time. Once all players
have decided, the dealer reveals the house cards and arranges the cards in the
strongest possible way. The dealer's Knight Hand must also be stronger than or
equal to the dealer's Squire hand.
If the players Knight beats the dealer's Knight, and the players
Squire beats the dealer's Squire, the player is paid on the bet (more on that
later). If the dealer’s Knight and Squire beats the players Knight and Squire
then the dealer wins and the bet is collected. If only the Knight, or only the Squire
wins, it’s a push and no money changes hands.
There is an unusual situation where if the players and the
dealer’s Knight have the same weapons, then if the dealer’s Squire beats the
players Squire; then the dealer will win. However if the players Squire wins
then it is a push.
If the Squires tie, then it is decided by the Knights alone.
If the player wins they are paid either 5:4 or 10:9
depending on how much they bet. If a player bets some combination of 10’s and
5’s for example 25 and they win they would collect 22 gold; 10:9 twice and 5:4
once. No bet this is not divisible by 5 will be accepted.
If the players knight and squire are stronger then the
dealers Knight and dealers Squire = Player wins.
If the Dealers knight and squire are stronger then the
Players Knight and dealers Squire = Player loses.
If only one of the players Knight or Squire wins = push
If the squires tie and the players Knight wins = player win
If the squires tie and the players Knight loses = player
loses
If the Knights tie and the players Squire wins = push
If the Knights tie and the Dealer squire wins = player loses
